The Thursday Stoke!

Lots to be stoked about this Thursday. I've been in a total rut the past few weeks and having felt like it's hit me like a ton of bricks of late; I finally can build a ladder and get over it.

Step 1: Get out of town!

Last night I booked round trip airfare on Jet Blue (Sorry Spirit Airlines) to visit Rincon, Puerto Rico. Seriously, tickets were only $59 each way. I'm leaving in less than two weeks and it will be my third visit this year alone. I think I'm becoming a surfer with a Puerto Rico problem! This trip will be super fast and super cheap (4 days) and only be about surfing as the "season" is beginning. I'll be visiting two of my good friends that moved there from Florida about a month ago. They told me on the phone last night that they had just purchased a bundle of bananas, a giant avocado, a watermelon and some mangoes for less than $3. I can't wait to gorge myself upon all the great fruit they have down there and of course have a few beers after multiple surfing sessions!

Step 2: Get pumped!

I'm totally pumped about the Daytona Beach Half Marathon. I've felt less discomfort in my Achilles the past two days than the entire 4-weeks I've been dealing with this hindrance! Only problem is I haven't REALLY run in 4-weeks! I've come up with a pretty funny costume to wear during my run and am totally stoked to get to meet a fellow blogger (Melissa H of I don't Need Excuses) that is also running the Half and of course see the Redhead who is coming to cheer us on! The goal: Make it to the finish line for the free beer and of course a killer breakfast!

Step 3: Surf a contest!

Several of my surfer friends are talking me into taking part in the Surfari Club's Spooktacular Surf Contest. I've got an "interesting" outfit planned to wear while trying to surf. I've never surfed a contest before, but from what I'm told this really isn't a normal contest. Stay tuned for one heck of a crazy weekend recap!

Bring on the Half and Surfboards on Spirit!

2-part blog here folks!

When I started this blog I aimed to write about my real passion in life, SURFING, but recently I seem to find myself writing more and more about running. What to do? I'm sure that over time the post subjects will vary between surfing and running like the ebb and flood of the tide, but today here's a little tease of both subjects!

On the Running front!

This Sunday is the 2nd Annual Daytona Beach Half Marathon. The course sounds like an amazing race as it starts on the Daytona International Speedway, does a loop around the 2.5 mile track, goes to the beach and back finishing on the actual finish line of the race track. The list of swag they are giving away along with the prizes and drawings are killer! I've never raced anything bigger than a 10k. The past few weeks I've seriously questioned my ability to run the Daytona Half, not because of training and being able to run 13.1 miles, but because of a nagging Achilles tendon injury that doesn't seem to want to heal 100 percent. I've been down. I've been down right depressed about it and I'm sure it's shown on this blog. Heck, I haven't even posted anything in 5 days just because I didn't want to sound negative. But, as in many things in my life right now, I'm over it. I'm officially over it people! One of many quotes taped to my computer monitor and desk here at work reads, "Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting '... holy sh*t ... what a ride!'" George Carlin said that once upon a time. After reading that quote again this morning, having a wonderful conversation yesterday about it with Morgan (Caution: Redhead Running) and reading a comment on a previous post from Melissa H (I Don't Need Excuses) who will be running the same race with her own injuries, I've decided I'm over it, screw it, I'm running it.

That's right, consider my "resting" on the Achilles injury a 4 week taper for a Half Marathon! I'm not going to race it, but simply fun run it (maybe bring my camera along). I might even get dressed up in some sort of Halloween costume. You have to run at least a 16 minute pace or be DQ'ed. I think I could crawl faster than a 16 minute pace. The ultimate goal is Disney Marathon, but this Half is important to me as well, so I'm going to run it even if I slide into the grave sideways doing it! I just purchased the November issue of Runner's World to get me pumped up for it (I have subscriptions to every surf magazine, but yet to subscribe to any running publications.... any suggestions?) . Stay tuned for an interesting post race recap next week!

On the Surfing Front:

If you're a surfer and a traveler like myself you know about how airlines like to rape traveling surfers over surfboard bags. With all the negativity in my life right now (work, recession, injuries, etc.) I would like to make a quick and cheap trip to Puerto Rico for a few days in November. Spirit and Jet Blue Airlines both have cheap flights to Aguadilla. I'm talking $50-$70 each way. Only problem are their policies regarding baggage fees for surfboards. I've already flown Jet Blue to Puerto Rico twice this year. They charge $50 per board each way regardless of if the boards are in one bag or two bags. I travel with two surfboards, which equals $100 each way or the price of two tickets in some cases. I might as well buy my surfboard a passenger ticket and bucket it up in the seat next to me! There is one exception that involves a little trickery that I happen to be good at, but it makes me feel guilty and bad. To lie and flirt with the ticketing agent. This works sometimes until they physically search your bag and find two surfboards and charge you for both.

I recently noticed that Spirit Airlines have competitive rates (same price basically) as Jet Blue, but their baggage policy on their website is confusing and left open to interpretation. They basically say there is a flat rate of $75 for sporting equipment (surfboards fall into this category), but fail to acknowledge if they charge you $75 per bag or board? So I called them out on it in email. Here's how it went:

Spirit's first response to my question:
Thank you for writing to Spirit Airlines inquiring about our sporting equipment fees. Yes, a flat fee of $75.00 each leg will apply for all sporting equipment (surfboards, scuba tanks, bicycles etc.). Please keep in mind, surfboards will be accepted as checked baggage for an additional charge. One item of surfing equipment consists of: • One surfboard When packaging a surfboard, keels and/or kedges must be removed or crated in such a manner so as to prevent damage to other baggage. A release form will also need to be signed by the customer. Thank you for choosing Spirit Airlines.

A pretty clear response, except for the fact that they copied and pasted from their baggage policy as if I'm an idiot that can't read it for myself. The failed to directly answer my question of if I will be charged $75 for each board that is in my one bag?

So I called them out on it again with:
Bluntly put: If I have one surfboard bag, but there are two surfboards inside the one bag will I be charge $75 or $150??? Thanks, TallGuySurfing

And Spirit's reply:
Thank you for your continued correspondence with Spirit Airlines. As per our policy, yes you will be charge for each surfboard $75.00. However, it is up to the airport discretion if they will charge you for a bag with two surfboards or for each surfboard individually. Thank you again for contacting Spirit Airlines.

Hmmmmm, thanks Spirit Airlines for trying to pass the buck to the individual airport! Airlines are making bank on baggage fees, especially on surfers. It's funny that some airlines do not charge for baggage items such as golf clubs that weight a ton more than surfboards. The difference between bringing one surfboard or two surfboards for me is 7 pounds. The width difference in the bag is less than 3 inches. You can't tell me that size and weight difference justifies an additional $75. You can tell me that it's to cover liability cost of when the surfboards are damaged due to the airline's negligence, but if you read the fine print in most of the airlines policies for damaged baggage compensation there is usually a minimum amount they will reimburse for said damages that will not cover the replacement cost of an average surfboard.

Sorry Spirit Airlines, I'm going to have to stick with Jet Blue since your rates are the same and the cost difference boils down to baggage fees. However, I really wish I had that last email correspondence from Jet Blue Airlines to bring with me to the ticketing counter. There would be nothing better than putting that in front of the ticketing agent's face and saying, "So tell me, are you going to be an A-hole about these baggage fees or make my traveling experience a pleasant one, it's your call, not the policy?" At least then the agent couldn't blame it on their policy. It'd be on them. Hmmm, maybe I will give Spirit a try?

The Thursday Stoke!

It's late in the afternoon and I'll admit... this is the hardest Thursday stoke for me to write yet. Simply because I've been down all week. Down about the poor weather and poor surf, down about the economy, but mostly down about my still injured Achilles tendon. It's looking more and more like I won't be able to finish the Daytona Half Marathon if I attempt to run it and who knows, perhaps I need an MRI or something expensive for doctors to tell me not to run a marathon in January. Everywhere I look I see people, friends, bloggers running since it's race season and it sucks to be injured and remind myself I can't join them. It's almost like many of the women in my life; just around the time I really fall for her, she leaves. Is running leaving me? Ugggh... on to better things now.

The Thursday Stoke!

I'm feeling better already and I'll tell you why! It's better to laugh than be down. Sometimes it's just hard to find that laugh. For the past 20 minutes I've gone back through my email for the past few days and looked at the forwards. Those emails your friends send you that 90 percent of the time you've seen already or they're something annoying bound for the trash can. However, what I'm looking at is the other 10 percent. The few "new" ones that are funny and you know what? I'm laughing at them for all their worth so I'll share some of the funniest things (in my opinion) I've seen all week via my inbox.

Here goes:

1.) This came to me today with only the following label: "Air Traffic Control in Texas!"

2.) This was quite the stir of controversy when I forwarded it to a few friends, but only amongst the ultra (Oh my God what to we do with Obama) conservative friends that can't see the humor in a joke. I love the area that includes Iceland, Greenland and the North Pole that shall be known as Santa! From now on I won't be forwarding those conservative friends anything humorous and if they send me anymore long political email responses I shall respond by only saying "Santa!" with a retarded voice! (click to enlarge)

3.) If you're involved in any kind of real estate right now this is hilarious!

Click here to view the YouTube video.

4.) This one is "in the gutter" but I laughed the hardest when I saw it. It was labeled "My New Girlfriend."

5.) This one isn't funny, but just beautiful. I wanted to close with something that shows my true passion in life. I think this shot by Clark Little accomplishes it perfectly!

Onshore and Low Tide

Went to work this morning.
Went on office caravan (tour of new properties for sale).
Didn't feel bad like I usually do going to all the oceanfront condos and seeing good surf because....

IT'S BLOWN OUT LIKE AN INDUSTRIAL WASHING MACHINE FROM HELL TODAY!

At least all this wind will calm down eventually leaving us with a short window of clean large surf. Just got wait and catch it right....

But for today it's too windy to ride a bicycle, to rough to surf (unless your 18-years-old and looking for punishment) and I can run because of my Achilles injury....

Oh well, might as well go get a flu shot (three people told me they have the flu this morning) and maybe clean out my pickup truck after work.

How to tie a marathon knot

In my last post about my adventure with Bicycle up to Spikes Athletic Footwear I mentioned a "Marathon Knot." It's so simple and so cool that I want to share it. I'm sure some of you super runners out there know about it or know other knots, but perhaps I can pass it on to at least one person out there that needs a way to keep their shoes from loosening up during their runs.

After inserting the first (of many) orthotic insert into my running shoes the employee at Spikes began to lace me up. I immediately start lacing up my other shoe not wanting to make her work too hard. She stops me and says, "you need to tie a marathon knot like this," and reconfigures the lacing on my shoes. I gaze down at her work in amazement. How cool?

To tie your own marathon knot just follow these steps.

1.) Lace up your shoes as most people normally do, but use that last hole... the one that you've probably never used in your life and make a loop with the shoe lace tip coming out inside the shoe.


2.) Put on your shoes and pull the laces as tight as you desire. You'll have to pull on the loops (not the lace ends) to tighten the last bit.


3.) Now for the only part that I can imagine anyone getting confused about: Take the end of the shoe lace and thread it through the loop on the OPPOSITE side of the shoe.


4.) After threading both laces through the loops pull tight.


5.) Now go ahead and tie your shoes the way you normally do before your run. I prefer a double or triple knot. The difference is now it will be harder for your shoes to loosen up even if your knot becomes lose or untied.

Brilliant!

In other news:
It was 11 days since my last test run, a 3 miler, that just made my Achilles worse, and this morning I attempted another test run. This time with my orthotic inserts (I'll review in a future post) and I only pushed it for 1.6-miles. The pain was minor, but it was pretty much unchanged since my last run. This Achilles tendon stuff TAKES FOREVER to heal! So I cut the run short, and hit the gym to cross train with weights. It's only 13 days until the Daytona Half Marathon and I'm really starting to wonder if I'll be able to complete it or if it'll be a bust? I feel like endurance wise I'm find with the distance and cardio of a Half Marathon, it's just I already know how frustrated and disgusted I'm going to be if I'm in shape for it, but unable to run because of this Achilles business. By the way it has finally cooled down in Florida. It was a chillaxing 50-degrees when I left my house this morning. I quickly realized that all my routes from this summer are moot because they feature a lot of shade for if the sun is up. Now I need to re-think them all for the most possible sunlight to stay warm! Who would have thunk!?!? Here's me and my Florida cold running get up!

My own Biketoberfest! (35-Miles)

It's Biketoberfest here in New Smyrna Beach (near Daytona Beach) and that means annoying traffic backups, constant noise from illegally loud motorcycle pipes and a flux of the only culture I can think of where the more gnarly, fat, ugly, tattooed, out-of-shape, smelly you are makes you cooler. Hell, Charlie Daniels is even playing tomorrow night in Edgewater of all places! I can't believe I just wrote that considering years ago I rode a motorcycle and loved these special events. These days I'd rather skip town and miss it. What I just said lingers on the negative aspects of the biker congregations we have twice a year, but I suppose it's only fair to mention the economic benefit the bikers bring on their vacations (although I haven't sold a biker any real estate during Bike Week nor Biketoberfest in at least 3-years). The biker culture does absolutely nothing for me these days other than pure annoyance. I'd rather be out in the quiet ocean riding waves or pounding pavement if my Achilles tendon were healed, but it's not and that brings me to my own personal Biketoberfest.

This morning I went for a 35-mile ride. A bicycle ride, that is, right through the heart of Biketoberfest! The plan was devised last night. I did not have to work until 1 p.m. today. I want to visit a speciality running store to get advise on my Achilles tendon and find out about getting a heel insert for my shoes. I'm also completely longing for that feeling I haven't felt in soooooooooo long... you know the "long run" feeling. I NEED to have a massive calorie burn people! It's been a while! Actually, it's been a while for another thing too, but we won't even go there! The nearest speciality running store is Spikes in Holly Hill (north of LPGA Blvd near Ormond Beach) about 17 miles or so straight up U.S. 1 from my house in New Smyrna Beach. So why not save some gas and ride the bicycle up there and back??? It seemed like a good idea at the time. Here's the recap:

Mile 1 - Leave the house. It's awesome outside today! A cold front is approaching and the air is cool; only a modest 85 degrees!

Mile 4 - The sidewalk and bike path completely ends. The speed limit increases to 55 mph and I have a 1-2 feet wide section of pavement to work with for the next 3 miles as cars and bikers whiz by leaving wake turbulence to hit me in the back. NO BUENO! Running feels much safer.

Mile 8 - A redneck in a pickup truck makes a U-turn in front of me and then turns right cutting me off and almost running me over. I am wearing a bright yellow shirt. Maybe he was color blind.

Mile 12 - Nasty looking fat biker rides by yelling "get a real bike." F*ck you dude! I'm way cooler with my "Giant" hybrid bicycle! It's even got a L.E.D. flashing tail light.

Mile 14 - Pimp looking guy with a lot of bling, gold teeth and a tricked out bicycle is in my way. I pass him like he's standing still. I could walk faster than he is riding.*

Mile 15 - I start to realize how much pollution sucks. Literally! It sucks the energy right out of you. I feel as though I'm breathing nothing but exhaust. The noise pollution also sucks. I miss my normal jaunts through the beachside neighborhoods of New Smyrna Beach with nothing but clean ocean air to inhale.

Mile 17ish - Arrive at Spikes Athletic Footwear. They're so nice there they allow me to bring the bicycle inside so it doesn't get stolen. I purchase two different heel inserts. My problem is that I pronate something awful with my left foot and my left arch is partially collapsed, but more on that when I update you after testing out the inserts. The coolest thing of the day is the shoe lace knot the sales lady taught me. She called it a "marathon knot" and it's so simple, but works so well. I'll probably take a video of myself showing the knot and blog it in a future post. I'm stoked about picking up this little piece of knowledge.

Mile 23ish - A scary looking woman is walking in the middle of the bike path as I approach. She yells, "Get out of the way," in the most high screeching voice ever! There is a sidewalk for pedestrians 4-feet to her left.

Mile 24 - Another biker yells something unintelligible as he passes. Then a car almost kills me as it passes me and then turns in front of me. Can people not judge speed? If you pass me and turn right two seconds later it's no different than cutting off a car. I'm averaging 17 mph!

Mile 26 - On a spur of the moment decision I stop at Bob's Bikes in Port Orange. This is where I purchased my super cool bicycle several years ago when I was playing around with triathlon ideas. I figure that since I'm cheating on Running for the time being, I might as well get Bicycle an upgrade. That way, maybe she'll be a little more attractive than Running, cause so far Bicycle just isn't doing it for me. So I tell Bob I want to get her a new rack! Or ah... handlebar thing. He looks at me strange and I tell him, "look dude, I'm not a biker. I'm a runner, but I need something to allow me to lean over more while I'm riding." Bob smiles and hooks me up with this attachment for Bicycle. It allows me to hunch down further and look more like a real biker. It also allows me to go faster, yeehaw! See the black bar extention in the picture below.

Miles 27-35 - the wind changes directions. It was a west wind, hence a manageable crosswind to my north/south direction, but it shifts 40 degrees or so to a southwest wind. This makes a slight headwind, which really sucks.

As I arrive back at my house I feel the burn. Finally, I feel as though I've got that calorie burn that a long run gives me. I've been feeling a slight "runner's high" all day and it's great! My official time according to my $10 timex wrist watch is 2:02:58. Mapmyrun.com says I averaged 17 mph. Booooyaa!

For the official tally I spotted:

4 prostitutes

2 guys I guess would be pimps

1 maybe prostitute

Dozens of homeless looking people

Too Many bikers

*Miles 12-17 are located in a section of Daytona Beach notorious for crime, poverty and strangeness.

Thursday Stoke!

I'm stoked because it's time for the Thursday Stoke!

That means I've got to find a reason to be stoked not matter what the day, good or bad. At 7:50 a.m. this morning I was walking into an office building for an earlier morning meeting and I saw a bunch of guys digging a trench. They were still digging this trench 2 hours later when I left the building to drive to my office. First off, I'd like to stay how stoked I am to have my job and career and NOT be one of those guys digging the ditch. As bad as the real estate market is right now, it's still better than ditch digging.

I'm stoked for Smart Water! I drink the large 1QT size bottle just about every day. This electrolyte enhanced water kicks arse when it comes to hydration and is a must on days I do Bikram yoga.

I am not stoked about my Achilles tendon still being in the NO BUENO status. I'm used to being bulletproof and having an injury or a condition like this that could get REALLY bad if I don't take measures to prevent is new territory for me. However, I can say I'm stoked about finding some new resources because of the my Achilles tendon causing me to conduct research online. Two sites I'm stoked about today are:

Cool Running.com - It has a ton of information, services and tools for runners of all abilities. I also found some useful stretching information for when I can run again that will help me stretch my Achilles tendon better.

Active.com - In my opinion they are kind of like the Ticketmaster of Races, be it a 5k or a full marathon, by charging annoying administration fees tacked onto online race registrations. I usually avoid this fee by simply finding out how to mail in a check and registration form to the race I'm interested in entering. What I'd discovered this week is the running section really does have a lot of useful information about the sport that is available without having to become a member of the site.

I also have to throw out a Happy Birthday stoke to J-Mo at Redhead Running!

And a final stoke to my surfing friend Brian that is leaving tomorrow for a vacation in Thailand!

17 days until the Daytona Half Marathon (maybe I should start running again before then. LOL)

Mid-Stoke Update #1 - Check out the "Mandatory Sex Party" going on over at Hyperbole-And-A-Half's blog. She is crazy funny!

Hot Diggity Dog!

I ate a hot dog for lunch today.

A 7-Eleven 1/4-pound Big Bite completely plain (I rarely do condiments) to be exact.

Stopped in to get a Smart Water and a fruit salad or chicken salad wrap, but left with a hot dog instead.

I haven't ate a hot dog since earlier in the summer when I started officially training for the Disney Marathon and also right after some crazy looking dude like this guy told me on the beach that hot dogs have been attributed to causing colon cancer in lab rats. This was of course while I was eating a hot dog on the beach and of course kind of ruined the entire experience.

I'm assuming this impulsive decisions stems from all this talk about hot dogs as of late. First there was B.o.B.'s blog about the famous Chicago Hot Dog and then Rixy sent me this picture (to the right) in an email yesterday. So when I walked past the hot dog machine roller thingy on my way to the fruit salads they just looked so damn good I was memorized!

It tasted GRRRRRRRRREat! Now I'm wondering how long until my rear end explodes with colon cancer?

Seriously though, I need to get back on track. I rode "Bicycle the Terrible" yesterday for 15 miles in about 1 hour. No matter how hard I try or how fast I push it, riding a bicycle for an hour doesn't give me the satisfaction of running for a hour. This morning I surfed before work. This is great. It's what I'm all about, but unfortunately surfing doesn't really do much for your running game. My Achilles is a lot better, but I'm going to give it the rest of the week before giving running another chance.

18 Days until Daytona Half Marathon...

Alaia Boards 1 - Surfers 0

Finally!
A small swell graced us with weekend waves worthy of a little Alaia board experimentation. Contrary to the surf reports, head high waves began peeling in at New Smyrna Inlet Saturday morning. Brian and I took our homemade "Alaia" boards to the beach with our normal quiver of longboards.
They look huge in this pre-session photo because they ARE HUGE! And for the record that is NOT duct tape at the nose of my board. It's a GLOBE sticker of a skull that I thought would be appropriate considering my prediction of the board breaking and/or becoming water logged and de-laminating upon the initial use with possible injuries. Having a longboarder's mentality I think we were hesitant NOT to make them on the bigger side when it came down to the drawing board. Since then we've seen a few professionally made alaia boards and they are for the most part much smaller and more narrow. Ours are 8 feet long by about 23 inches wide. Brian's is a swallow tail and mine is a squash tail. Now on to the surf!

The first thing noticeable is the SERIOUS lack of floatation. Duck diving through a wave is super easy, but the only problem is the board does NOT bring you back to the surface as a normal surfboard. I thought I would treat myself to a duck dive (a rarity now that I primarily use longboards) and it was the strangest feeling sinking to the bottom with this board below me. Paddling these boards feels like swimming. They are very close to being neutrally buoyant so it takes a lot of energy just to stay in the line up. Catching a wave is not a difficult as I thought, but finding control once up on the board is like learning to surf all over. Our alaia boards are clumsy beasts! They flex so much that they almost feel cushioned under the feet and they tend to yaw back and forth more than I thought. It's hard to get the rails to hold a line. I've surfed a few regular surfboards with the fins removed a few times and these boards are much harder to control.


The current was kicking the day we tested them so after 20 minutes both Brian and I were spent. We each rode 2-3 waves. It was more difficult to find the pocket of the wave and not end up in the whitewash. Brian does not see much fun in the concept with the waves we have to deal with here in Florida. I'm going to experiment a little more and perhaps make one out of real lumber and NOT plywood. Neither my prediction of the alaia boards breaking nor becoming water logged and de-laminating held true. At first I was a little disappointed in the overall outcome and more than happy to surf some fun waves on a normal surfboard, but after a while I realized my accomplishment in the fact that I built a wave riding machine from scratch and successfully surfed it on first try. That's amazing in my book! It's always fun to experiment!

In other news:

I continue to R.I.C.E. my Achilles tendon. Another week with no running and I'm beginning to stress about being ready for the Daytona Half Marathon on November 1. Tendons are SO SLOW to heal. It's downright annoying at this point. I'm riding my bicycle (hate it) and weight training while trying to patiently wait for the injury to GO AWAY!

I also have got to throw out a "hell yeah" to my good friend J-Mo (aka Caution: Redhead Running) who conquered the Chicago Marathon yesterday. It was her very first marathon and she did not stop once, never hit the "wall" and finished with a time of 4 hours and 8 minutes. I am so proud of her and totally stoked!!!!

Surfing and Nicknames

Isn't it funny how nicknames are more predominant in some sports or occupations than others?

I've dabbled in aviation, journalism, public relations, softball, soccer, basketball, paintball, baseball, running (obviously) and photography as just a few sports, jobs or hobbies, but the one where nicknames, slang and other oddities is most profound is by far surfing.

Is it that we're out in the sun too long? Does the saltwater make us crazy? Or is it the free spirited individual that is usually drawn to such an activity? Who knows for sure, but I do know there are some crazy nicknames in surfing. Flea, Noodles, Occy, Parko, Wingnut are just a few I can think up quickly. The names of surf breaks are even crazier with Pipe, Backdoor, Hobos, Mavericks, Jaws, Shithouse, Ruins, Cyclops, The Wedge, Playgrounds, Cloud Break and Middles coming to mind.

With that being said I thought I would share a humorous text message conversation I had a few days ago with a surfer friend of mine and myself about a mutual friend that just bought his first surfboard and is gearing up to learn the sport.

Friend: Dude, Scott bought a ten foot three Anderson with a killer point on the nose. single fin.

Me: Awesome, that sounds sick.

Friend: Yeah crazy guy. oh well now we gotta help him break it in!

Me: Sweet... no bloody noses this time!

Friend: Hope not especially from his board. it might kill you.

Me: Hahaha we should name it the Zulu Spear or the Samurai Sword or Moby Dick or something!

Friend: Yes. I concur that bastard needs a nickname

Friend: The glass shaft or pedro

Friend: The waxed dong

Me: Sayin you're gonna ride Pedro sounds gay! LOL... maybe hmm idk lol

Friend: I'm not going to ride pedro though. Scott is and he is lol

Me: LOL... the Bitch Tip!

Friend: Now we're getting somewhere the waxy wang he says!

Me: The Pedro Popper!

Friend: I like that one lol

Me: The Wanker Spanker!

Friend: The sloppy Jaloppi

Friend: Sloppy seconds since its used

Me: Ewwwww lmao! The LOOSE GOOSE!

Friend: I'm gonna go ride someone's sloppy seconds

Everyone have a great weekend! Ace those long runs, races and get pitted on a monster swell if you're lucky!

Thursday Stoke

Hey folks, this ain't your normal Thursday Stoke. This is going to be a:

SUPER Thursday Stoke!

There are so many things to be stoked about today that I'll probably forget to mention them all.
Here goes:

First off, I've got to recap where I left off in the last post. I did go for a run yesterday morning. The first run in 8 days. I set out to do 5 miles and only did 3 miles. I tried to go slow, but ended up running a tempo pace (I can't help myself when the distance is short). About a mile into the run Mr. Achilles started complaining so I made the "play it safe" decision to only go three. After all, as you'll read later on, I'm not young, dumb and bulletproof anymore. My Achilles tendon did not swell up to cankle status as it did before, but it is super tight and borderline painful. NO BUENO! I'm back to R.I.C.E.ing it and no more running for a few more days. I'm taking One Sassy Girl's advice and giving the tendon lots of time to heal. This I am NOT stoked about, but when I set out to train for a marathon I planned on dealing with at least one injury so in a way I'm stoked that it's happening now with 90 days left instead of 10 days left or something.

Now for more stoking matters:

• Harrison signed up for Disney... finally! He is my game day running buddy and the reason I got myself into this marathon business in the first place. We are officially both signed up and registered and in this together (he is also nursing an Achilles issue now as well).
  
• My good friends John and Julie are officially moved to Puerto Rico! I did NOT move with them as planned for financial reasons (real estate market can suck it!), but I'm super stoked for them and also eager to fly down there with some of my quiver and rip apart some winter time Rincon swell action! And, eat lots of tropical fruit of course!
  
• In two days, J-Mo (aka Caution: Redhead Running) will rip up her own swell in Chicago. A running swell, that is, of 35,000 or is it 45,000??? of marathon runners pounding pavement in the windy city. She has trained so hard, overcome adversity, harnessed her fears and taken bold risks to get there and I'm so stoked for her. Run Morgan Run!
  
• I've reached my 50th post. This is really my 51st post. I didn't even realize it until writing this one so I'm stoked about far this little blog is coming along and I'm especially stoked for my readers and also each of their entertaining blogs!
• Jojoba is having surgery tomorrow! Yes, I am stoked about this and I'll tell you why! Jojoba is one of my closest friends. We're both Gators (marched in the band several years apart), both majored in the same college within the University of Florida and both love to surf and love the ocean and some how we managed to find each other and become friends. About eight months ago we were at a rock climbing wall and she fell only about three feet right in front of me and broke her tibia and fibula in her right leg. She had immediate surgery, but the past few months have been hell for her and her recovery because her fibula (smaller non-load bearing bone) is not healing like it should, which is causing her a lot of pain. So tomorrow she is getting a second surgery done to hopefully correct it. I know she is super nervous about it, but I am super stoked because I have faith that this will all work out and she'll be back to her old self fearlessly charging hurricane swell waves very soon! Good luck my dear Jojoba!

Jojoba

And last, but not least, I'm stoked for all the birthday's this week. Most of all Jeanie Marie's birthday tomorrow. She has been a great friend to me; a best friend ever since one day (about 16 years ago) in high school where she ran into me (literally at full speed) in the hall way next to my locker. We normally celebrate "our" birthdays together (mine is today), but she now lives in California and our schedules didn't work out for a visit this October. Tonight I will call her a few minutes after midnight because it will be her birthday in my time zone and my birthday still in her time zone. Yes, I know I'm a dork, but for the first time we'll be celebrating our birthdays together (really at the same time) on the phone. It's also Rixy's birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday to Rixy. We miss you're antic's over in NSB!

And finally (really this will be the final one, I promise) as I said earlier I'm not young, dumb and bulletproof anymore. I'm officially 32-years-old today and I'm stoked! I look around and I'm in much better shape than many people 10 years younger than I and I really do feel great! So I'm stoked to be older, wiser and only slightly bulletproof. :-) Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes! It's only 10 a.m. and I'm already overwhelmed. My email inbox this morning contained 61 email notifications from Facebook alone. I'm afraid to log onto Facebook just thinking about how I'm going to respond to all of those comments.

Tonight I'm off with some surfer friends to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal's Islands of Adventure. It was a last minute idea by my friends to drag me to this event. I'm not really into the haunted house kind of things, but there are some gnarly roller coasters, which I do like because they remind me of my aviation days back when I was flying airplanes. I tried to get a date to come with me, but being last minute it didn't work out. Hey, it's my Birthday! I'm going to have a good time and be stoked about it anyways!

Good luck to all those running marathons this weekend and may an epic swell with offshore winds grace your beach wherever you are on the rock!

'One Week' since I ran...

"Its been one week since you looked at me
Cocked your head to the side and said Im angry.
Five days since you laughed at me
Saying get that together come back and see me.
Three days since the living room
I realized its all my fault, but couldnt tell you
Yesterday youd forgiven me
But itll still be two days till I say Im sorry"*

One entire week with no running and I feel LAME-O! Bluntly put, icing, compressing, elevating and most of all learning to REST my injury is a NO BUENO with a capital SUCK! As of this morning my left Achilles tendon looks normal again. No more cankle! It feels good too. I almost gave Running a try a couple days ago, but after researching Achilles injuries I decided another few days of rest would be a safe bet. In the meantime I've tried to occupy myself with other activities that do not stretch/stress the Achilles very much like bicycling, weight training and even wakeboarding (more on that last one in a second). The most exciting thing for me however, is the fact that I completely re-organized my Disney Marathon training schedule! It's a 26-week program and I was in the 14th week when Mr. Achilles decided to protest like a little bitch. Originally, my schedule ended 3-weeks before the race on January 10, 2010. This works out perfectly now since I've had to take a step backwards with this nagging injury (2 steps forward, 1 back is my motto). I've reworked it, re-tooled it and feel like I'm back on track and it leads all the way up to race day. Here are the remaining once a week long runs in countdown fashion:

14 weeks to go - 8 miles
13 weeks to go - 12 miles
12 weeks to go - 14 miles OR 10 miles depending on how I feel
11 weeks to go - Daytona Beach Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
10 weeks to go - 15 miles
9 weeks to go - 17 miles
8 weeks to go - 19 miles
7 weeks to go - 21 miles
6 weeks to go - 13 miles (or maybe the annual Ed Root 10k)
5 weeks to go - 12 miles
4 weeks to go - 23 miles
3 weeks to go - 12 miles
2 weeks to go - 13.1 miles OR 10 miles depending on how I feel with the taper.
1 D-Day - Disney Marathon (26.2 miles)

I realize that weeks 10-7 to go don't have a "short" long run in them, but I really want to get some long distance runs under my belt. So far I only have a 16.5 mile run with Redhead Running and then a bunch of 13-miler or shorter runs to show. The training schedule that I'm using as a foundation is meant for someone that only wants to finish as a goal. This of course is my only goal, but being a rookie in the world of Marathons I tend to question everything. Anybody have suggestions? I'm all ears!

As for the wakeboarding, I've got to post a few pictures. It's been super flat for at least 10 days now. Surfers get kind of stir crazy when this happens. Sunday afternoon a few longboarder friends of mine and I decided to "experiment" behind my boat with a beat up old longboard, some costumes and a couple of wakeboards, and yes, I was in the Pride of the Sunshine Gator Marching band about 10 years ago! Go Gators! (click the pictures to enlarge)

Noseriding band geek I am!

Look Mom, no fins... backwards and goofy stance!

This is going to hurt!


Ok, so maybe I don't bleed orange and blue, but I still bleed!

Wildlife!

Brian taking a tumble. He rips way better than he wipes out!

Tandem couple shot! This was awesome!

Dueling wakeboards???

Sunday turned out to be a real "Fun Day" after all. A day on the water beats any day at work whether there are waves or not! Tomorrow is the day. I'm feeling it. I'm going to give Running another chance... and hopefully in the next post we'll be back together again! I'm stoked!

92 Days Until Disney!!!


"It's been one week since you looked at me
Dropped your arms to your sides and said I'm sorry
Five days since I laughed at you
And said you just did just what I thought you were gonna do
Three days since the living room
We realized were both to blame, but what could we do?
Yesterday you just smiled at me..."

* Lyrics are from Barenaked Ladies "One Week," if you haven't figured it out, which also makes a good song for the iPod running playlist!

"Heeling"

Welcome to Sunday Fun day Randomness!

For this edition of "totally random blog posts," I'll try and categorize our topics for today (and yes, I'm totally hijacking Rachael's format of her last post at The Beginning Runner's Blog... hope you don't mind).

* Inspiration for the day

* Surfing update

* Running update

* Going out, misbehaving and being hung over


Inspiration
I am completely inspired after reading the story titled "Crossing Oceans" in the October 2009 issue of Surfer Magazine. Usually I find these magazines void of intriguing content and full of what holds the attention of your stereotypical burnout surfer best -- photos and meaningless jabber. However, this story by Christian Beamish about Liz Clark's ongoing solo adventure aboard the 40' vessel Swell is astonishing! This 29-year-old surfer has sailed 14,000 miles in the last three- and- a- half years by herself surfing, free-diving and fishing the entire way! These are the kind of people that I admire not only for their sense of adventure in life, but for their courage to break away from the norm and truly live life! I found her blog here and also a video clip of her story here. I will definitely be following her voyage vicariously in my Google Reader.

Surfing Update
The alaia boards are ready to go... or should I say ready for imminent disaster! This week while I found myself with plenty of spare time not being able to run or exercise, I applied two coats of waterproofing. I'm sure we should be using some kind of resin, but oh well.... this is just a test run to see more what it feels like to try and surf them. Only problem we are having is the serious lack of waves! It's flat as Kansas right now and no swell in sight...

Running Update
Or should I say lack of running. As B.o.B. put it in one of her blogs a while back, running injuries suck! My Achilles tendon is "heeling" at the pace of Plate Tech tonics! I'm now beginning the 15th week of my Disney Marathon training plan and I'm feeling SOOOOO behind. I know it's OK because the training plan ends a full month before the race so at some point I'm going to modify it (as nice as it sounds, I know I can't taper for a full month!). It's almost as if an injury was part of the master plan. It's slowly getting better and I'm trying my hardest to "take it easy." So in B.o.B.'s terminology, Running and I are taking a break for a bit. It's really hard, but I'm getting by... I went out with Biking Friday morning, but the satisfaction just wasn't the same as with Running. I even gave Walking a shot yesterday, but I fear that I just don't have the time nor patience to put up with Walking. Hopefully, I'll get back with Running soon.

Going out and Final Thoughts...
Without Running around to keep me out of trouble I found myself being coerced into the realms of Nightlife both Friday and Saturday. I don't think I've "gone out" two nights in a row since Matt's wedding in July and speaking of weddings that's what got me out last night and Mr. Evil Open Bar is responsible for Mr. Hangover that came for a visit this morning. I haven't seen Mr. Hangover since the beginning of July and one things for sure; I AM NOT PROPERLY TRAINED FOR MR. HANGOVER'S ANTICS! Ugggg.... at least I'm getting it out of my system now, while injured, and soon I'll be "heeled" and getting back on track!


I close with this picture I snapped with my phone camera Thursday night. Sunset fishing for redfish at the Ponce side of the inlet...

Thursday Stoke!

First off let me just say how stoked I am today because this morning I closed one of my deals, which means I will get a paycheck! Working on 100 percent commission in the world of real estate is extremely tough these days. I'm super excited to be getting paid soon! Perhaps I'll buy myself some new running shoes or a new surfboard.... or maybe I'll just pay some bills!



Second off let me just say I'm sorry for being so "emo" in my last post and a BIG thanks for all the comments of support and suggestions! I'm still on the "DL," but have moved on to the acceptance stage of being injured.... hmmm maybe I should write a post on the mental stages of injuries??? Injury occurance => Denial => Frustration => Anger => Acceptance => Cope => healing???

Well, I'm over it. I've been icing, compressing, elevating my Achilles tendon religiously the past few days, it's just the "rest" part of R.I.C.E. that I find difficult. Also, I might add that researching Achilles tendon injuries online is enough to scare the living hell out of any runner! As of this morning my left ankle is feeling a lot better, but is still looking like a "cankle" of sorts.*

I've been reduced to keeping it wrapped in an ACE bandage with a neoprene brace over top. It hurts to wear shoes and my REEF flip flops are definitely a "negative Ghostrider," so I'm wearing these "Jesus" sandals (a reference made by a surfer friend of mine upon seeing me in them) everywhere! (See photo to the right)

Now on to the real reason for the Thursday Stoke!

I'm stoked for being on the DL and I'll tell you why! My inability to sit still usually keeps me occupied with work and exercise be it running, surfing or anything else active. With a cankle-clad left foot in a Jesus sandal I'm kind of stuck to limping around, but the hell if I'm going to sit on the couch and watch TV for very long. My surfer friend, Brian and I recently took notice of many pro surfers and even a few local guys riding these thin wooden boards with no rocker. It looks extremely difficult and the boards can't be but a 1/2 inch thick and have no fins. In a brilliant stroke a genius we decided that we too shall make our own plank boards. After a little online research we discovered the PC name for them is "Alaia" boards and they supposedly date back to ancient Hawaiian surfers.

Seriously, how difficult can it be to make a straight plank surfboard with no fins???

So off we went, or hobbled I went and Brian walked, to the Home Depot to buy lumber, sandpaper and waterproofing sealant. A few nights of power tools, saw dust everywhere and feeling a little high from wood stain and varnish fumes and I'm happy to report that we're just about ready to test out our very own Alaia boards. Now all we need is a swell to bring some waves powerful enough to carry our crazy @sses on these creations.

I'm predicting that one of two things or both will happen upon the first testing.
1.) The waterproofing FAILS (we should really be using resin) and the wood de-laminates. and/or
2.) The board breaks either from the waves energy or our body weight or me ripping up the wave!

Still, I'm stoked to be experimenting with an idea and building something with my own hands. I may have to take a few days off from marathon training, but it doesn't mean I have to sit on the couch! Stay tuned for an Alaia board field test blog post sometime in the near future!


*Note: top picture is NOT my legs, but my left leg looks just like this! Ouch! No more arching in the Achilles. However, the Keen "Jesus Sandal" is my foot.